Floating Island: A light dessert

I hope you are ready for an amazing new recipe! I don’t know about you but I often have sweet cravings and always feel guilty whenever I get a piece of cake or cookies, because it is simply to heavy and rich in butter. Today’s recipe is perfect for when you want something sweet quick and light. Floating Island or Ile Flottante, is often considered as a “diet” dessert even though it still contains sugar. For this recipe, all you really need are eggs and milk: they are the main ingredients and the reason why it is so light.

Floating Island is a very popular dessert in France, I remember that as a kid I would get this at school and this always been one of my favorites. The dessert is composed of two parts: a rich and creamy custard cream and a light and fluffy egg white on top. Biting into it is like biting in a cloud: it melt instantly in your mouth. I warn you it is highly addictive though!

For this recipe, no baking needed, and really 15-20 min is just enough to make this dessert. It is perfect for a quick snack, dessert for your next dinner or summer dessert since you don’t need to use your oven, and after few hours in your fridge it will be refreshing.

Let’s start cooking!

Ingredients:

Custard cream:

1 +1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup sugar

3 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Fluffy Egg whites:

3 egg whites

1 pinch of salt

3 tbsp sugar

Instructions:

Prepare the Custard:

1- In a pot, add the milk ( you can replace it by the milk of your choice like soy or almond) and the teaspoon of vanilla bean paste and warm it up without boiling it.

2- In a mixing bowl, add your egg yolks and the sugar. Mix with a wooden spoon until it becomes more creamy and less yellow. Poor the warm milk and vanilla on and mix well.

3- Pour back the mixture into the pot and cook for about 10 min. You have to stir the entire time and don’t let the mixture boil. The custard should become a little bit thicker, a bit like the cream you pour in your coffee. Pour it back in the bowl and let it cool down in the fridge.

Warning: It is important to never bring the custard to boil and to not over cook it as once the eggs are over cooked, the smell and taste will not be very good. If your custard doesn’t get thicker after 10- 15 min, stop cooking it. Pour it into a bowl and let it cool down in the fridge. After few hours in the fridge, the custard will become a little bit thicker.

Make the fluffy egg whites:

1- Add your eggs white in a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt and mix until firm.

2- Once firm, add the sugar little by little and keep mixing.

3- Pour it in a container and microwave for 40 seconds.

Now all you have to do is pour the custard in a bowl, add the fluffy egg whites on top and drizzle with store bought caramel sauce, or your own to add some crunch. For the caramel sauce, add 1/3 cup of sugar in a pot and let cook until you get a light brown/golden color. I prefer this dessert cold, so I usually put everything in the fridge for a couple hours before eating it, but it is up to you if you want it warm or cold.

I hope you will enjoy this recipe and like always let me know in the comments if you liked it or tried it before!